Courses of Study : Science (Grade 3)

Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions
Science (2015)
Grade(s): 3
All Resources: 11
Learning Activities: 2
Lesson Plans: 2
Classroom Resources: 7
1 ) Plan and carry out an experiment to determine the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces on the motion of an object using one variable at a time, including number, size, direction, speed, position, friction, or air resistance (e.g., balanced forces pushing from both sides on an object, such as a box, producing no motion; unbalanced force on one side of an object, such as a ball, producing motion), and communicate these findings graphically.

Unpacked Content
Scientific And Engineering Practices:
Planning and Carrying out Investigations
Crosscutting Concepts: Cause and Effect
Disciplinary Core Idea: Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Planned an experiment to determine the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces on the motion of an object using one variable at a time.
  • Carried out an experiment to determine the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces on the motion of an object using one variable at a time.
  • Collected data from experiment to serve as the basis of evidence for how balanced and unbalanced forces on an object determines an object's motion.
  • Communicated evidence and findings from experiment graphically.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • Experiment
  • Variable
  • Motion
  • Force (push and pull)
  • Balanced forces
  • Unbalanced forces
  • Cause and effect
  • Number
  • Size
  • Direction
  • Position
  • Friction
  • Air resistance
  • Communicate
  • Graphically
  • Net force
  • Sum
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • Each force acts on one particular object and has both strength and direction.
  • An object at rest typically has multiple forces acting on it, but they add to give zero net force on the object.
  • Forces that do not sum to zero can cause changes in the object's speed or direction of motion.
  • Objects in contact exert forces on each other.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Collaboratively plan an experiment to determine the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces on the motion of an object using one variable at a time.
  • Carry out an experiment to determine the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces on the motion of an object using one variable at a time.
  • Collect and record data from experiment.
  • Describe how the investigation plan addresses the purpose of the investigation.
  • Communicate findings graphically.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • Cause and effect relationships provide evidence when investigating balanced and unbalanced forces.
AMSTI Resources:
AMSTI Module:
Forces and Investigations

NAEP Framework
NAEP Statement::
P4.13: An object is in motion when its position is changing. The speed of an object is defined by how far it travels divided by the amount of time it took to travel that far.

NAEP Statement::
P4.14: The motion of objects can be changed by pushing or pulling. The size of the change is related to the size of the force (push or pull) and the weight (mass) of the object on which the force is exerted. When an object does not move in response to a push or a pull, it is because another push or pull (friction) is being applied by the environment.



Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards
AAS Standard:
SCI.AAS.3.1- Identify the effect of a force (e.g., push, pull, gravity) applied to an object.


Science (2015)
Grade(s): 3
All Resources: 4
Lesson Plans: 1
Classroom Resources: 3
2 ) Investigate, measure, and communicate in a graphical format how an observed pattern of motion (e.g., a child swinging in a swing, a ball rolling back and forth in a bowl, two children teetering on a see-saw, a model vehicle rolling down a ramp of varying heights, a pendulum swinging) can be used to predict the future motion of an object.

Unpacked Content
Scientific And Engineering Practices:
Planning and Carrying out Investigations
Crosscutting Concepts: Patterns
Disciplinary Core Idea: Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Identify the phenomenon under investigation.
  • Identify the evidence to address the purpose of the investigation.
  • Plan the investigation.
  • Collect data.
  • Investigate the phenomenon, which includes observable patterns in the motion of an object.
  • Measure how an observed pattern of motion can be used to predict the future motion of an object.
  • Communicate in graphical form how an observed pattern of motion can be used to predict the future motion of an object.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • Investigate
  • Measure
  • Communicate
  • Graphical format
  • Motion
  • Pattern
  • Predict
  • Phenomenon
  • Data
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • The patterns of an object's motion in various situations can be observed and measured.
  • When past motion exhibits a regular pattern, future motion can be predicted from it.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Investigate the motion of an object.
  • Identify patterns in the motion of an object.
  • Measure the motion of an object.
  • Communicate graphically the pattern of motion of an object.
  • Use patterns of motion of an object to predict future motion of that object.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • The pattern in the motion of the object can be used to predict future motion.
AMSTI Resources:
AMSTI Module:
Forces and Investigations

NAEP Framework
NAEP Statement::
P4.13: An object is in motion when its position is changing. The speed of an object is defined by how far it travels divided by the amount of time it took to travel that far.

NAEP Statement::
P4.14: The motion of objects can be changed by pushing or pulling. The size of the change is related to the size of the force (push or pull) and the weight (mass) of the object on which the force is exerted. When an object does not move in response to a push or a pull, it is because another push or pull (friction) is being applied by the environment.



Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards
AAS Standard:
SCI.AAS.3.2- Recognize patterns of motion (e.g., straight, back and forth, zigzag, fast, slow, falling, rolling); predict the motion of a common object when a force (push, pull, gravity) is applied.


Science (2015)
Grade(s): 3
All Resources: 4
Lesson Plans: 1
Classroom Resources: 3
3 ) Explore objects that can be manipulated in order to determine cause-and-effect relationships (e.g., distance between objects affecting strength of a force, orientation of magnets affecting direction of a magnetic force) of electric interactions between two objects not in contact with one another (e.g., force on hair from an electrically charged balloon, electrical forces between a charged rod and pieces of paper) or magnetic interactions between two objects not in contact with one another (e.g., force between two permanent magnets or between an electromagnet and steel paperclips, force exerted by one magnet versus the force exerted by two magnets).

Unpacked Content
Scientific And Engineering Practices:
Asking Questions and Defining Problems
Crosscutting Concepts: Cause and Effect
Disciplinary Core Idea: Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Observe and manipulate objects to identify cause and effect relationships of electrical interactions between two objects not in contact with one another.
  • Observe and manipulate objects to identify cause and effect relationships of magnetic interactions between two objects not in contact with one another.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • Explore
  • Manipulate
  • Cause and Effect
  • Electrical Interactions
  • Magnetic Interactions
  • Magnet
  • Repel
  • Attract
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • The size of the force can affect the electrical and magnetic interaction of two objects not in contact with one another.
  • The orientation of magnets can affect the magnetic interaction of two objects not in contact with one another.
  • The repulsion or attraction of magnets can affect the magnetic interaction of two objects not in contact with one another.
  • The presence of a magnet and the force the magnet exerts on other objects affects the magnetic force of two objects not in contact with one another.
  • The electrical charge of an object can affect the electrical force of two objects not in contact with one another.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Explore electrical interactions between two objects not in contact with one another.
  • Explore magnetic interactions between two objects not in contact with one another.
  • Determine cause-and-effect relationships of electrical interactions between two objects not in contact with one another.
  • Determine cause-and-effect relationships of magnetic interactions not in contact with one another.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • Cause and effect relationships are routinely identified, tested, and used to explain change.
  • Magnetic and electrical forces affect the way objects interact.
AMSTI Resources:
AMSTI Module:
Forces and Investigations

NAEP Framework
NAEP Statement::
P4.5: Magnets can repel or attract other magnets. They can also attract certain nonmagnetic objects at a distance.



Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards
AAS Standard:
SCI.AAS.3.3- Recognize cause-and-effect relationships of magnetic interactions between two objects (opposite poles attract, similar poles repel).


Science (2015)
Grade(s): 3
All Resources: 6
Lesson Plans: 2
Classroom Resources: 4
4 ) Apply scientific ideas about magnets to solve a problem through an engineering design project (e.g., constructing a latch to keep a door shut, creating a device to keep two moving objects from touching each other such as a maglev system).*

Unpacked Content
Scientific And Engineering Practices:
Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions
Disciplinary Core Idea: Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Identify and describe a simple design problem that can be solved by applying a scientific understanding of the forces between interacting magnets.
  • Identify and describe the scientific ideas necessary for solving the problem.
  • Identify and describe the criteria for a successful solution to the problem.
  • Identify and describe the constraints (limits) for solving the problem.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • Magnet
  • Properties
  • Engineering Design Process (Ask, Imagine, Plan, Create, Improve)
  • Attract
  • Repel
  • Forces
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • Magnetic forces between a pair of objects do not require that the objects be in contact with each other.
  • The sizes of the forces in a magnetic situation depend on the properties of the objects, the distances apart, and their orientation relative to each other.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Define a problem that can be solved with magnets.
  • Apply scientific ideas about magnets.
  • Solve a problem with scientific ideas about magnets through an engineering design project.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • Scientific discoveries about the natural world, such as magnets, can often lead to new and improved technologies, which are developed through the engineering design process.
AMSTI Resources:
AMSTI Module:
Forces and Investigations

NAEP Framework
NAEP Statement::
P4.5: Magnets can repel or attract other magnets. They can also attract certain nonmagnetic objects at a distance.



Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards
AAS Standard:
SCI.AAS.3.4- Apply scientific ideas about magnets to solve a problem. (e.g., using a magnet to pick up an object, using a magnet to push or pull an object)


From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes
Science (2015)
Grade(s): 3
All Resources: 14
Learning Activities: 1
Lesson Plans: 1
Classroom Resources: 12
5 ) Obtain and combine information to describe that organisms are classified as living things, rather than nonliving things, based on their ability to obtain and use resources, grow, reproduce, and maintain stable internal conditions while living in a constantly changing external environment.

Unpacked Content
Scientific And Engineering Practices:
Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information
Crosscutting Concepts: Patterns
Disciplinary Core Idea: From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Obtain information from multiple sources and combine it to describe that organisms are classified as living things rather than nonliving things.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • Organisms
  • Living things
  • Nonliving things
  • Growth
  • Resources
  • Reproduce
  • Stable conditions
  • Internal conditions
  • External environment
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • Resources obtained and used by living things.
  • Organisms can be classified as living things based on the following: their ability to obtain and use resources, grow, reproduce, and maintain stable internal conditions while living in a constantly changing external environment.
  • The life cycles of different organisms can look different, but all follow a pattern.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Obtain information from a variety of resources to describe organisms that are classified as living things, rather than nonliving things.
  • Combine information to describe that organisms are classified as living things, rather than nonliving things.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • Patterns can be used when determining that organisms are living things.
AMSTI Resources:
AMSTI Module:
Heredity and Diversity

NAEP Framework
NAEP Statement::
L4.4: When the environment changes, some plants and animals survive and reproduce; others die or move to new locations.

NAEP Statement::
L4.5: Plants and animals have life cycles. Both plants and animals begin life and develop into adults, reproduce, and eventually die. The details of this life cycle are different for different organisms.

NAEP Statement::
L8.7: The number of organisms and populations an ecosystem can support depends on the biotic resources available and abiotic factors, such as quantity of light and water, range of temperatures, and soil composition.



Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards
AAS Standard:
SCI.AAS.3.5- Classify common objects as living, rather than nonliving, based on their ability to obtain and use resources, grow, reproduce, and adapt to the environment.


Science (2015)
Grade(s): 3
All Resources: 15
Learning Activities: 4
Classroom Resources: 11
6 ) Create representations to explain the unique and diverse life cycles of organisms other than humans (e.g., flowering plants, frogs, butterflies), including commonalities such as birth, growth, reproduction, and death.

Unpacked Content
Scientific And Engineering Practices:
Developing and Using Models
Crosscutting Concepts: Patterns
Disciplinary Core Idea: From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Create representations to explain the unique life cycles of organisms other than humans.
  • Create representations to explain the diverse life cycles of organisms other than humans.
  • Identify relevant components (organisms, birth, growth, reproduction, and death) of their representations.
  • Describe relationships between components in their representations.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • Create
  • Explain
  • Representations
  • Unique
  • Diverse
  • Commonalities
  • Life cycles
  • Organisms
  • Birth
  • Growth
  • Reproduction
  • Death
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • Organisms are born, grow, reproduce and die in a pattern known as a life cycle.
  • Organisms have unique and diverse life cycles.
  • An organism can be classified as either a plant or an animal.
  • There is a causal direction of the cycle (e.g., without birth, there is no growth; without reproduction, there are no births).
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Create representations to describe that organisms have unique and diverse life cycles but all have in common birth, growth, reproduction, and death.
  • Explain the unique and diverse life cycles of organisms other than humans.
  • Explain commonalities of organisms such as birth, growth, reproduction, and death.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • Patterns of change can be used to make predictions about the unique life cycles of organisms.
AMSTI Resources:
AMSTI Module:
Heredity and Diversity

NAEP Framework
NAEP Statement::
L4.5: Plants and animals have life cycles. Both plants and animals begin life and develop into adults, reproduce, and eventually die. The details of this life cycle are different for different organisms.



Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards
AAS Standard:
SCI.AAS.3.6- Observe and recognize the major stages (birth, growth, reproduction, and death) in the life cycles of organisms other than humans (e.g., flowering plants, frogs, butterflies).


Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits
Science (2015)
Grade(s): 3
All Resources: 1
Classroom Resources: 1
7 ) Examine data to provide evidence that plants and animals, excluding humans, have traits inherited from parents and that variations of these traits exist in groups of similar organisms (e.g., flower colors in pea plants, fur color and pattern in animal offspring).

Unpacked Content
Scientific And Engineering Practices:
Analyzing and Interpreting Data
Crosscutting Concepts: Patterns
Disciplinary Core Idea: Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Examine data to provide evidence of inherited traits in plants and animals.
  • Examine data to provide evidence that there are variations in traits in groups of similar organisms.
  • Identify and describe patterns in the data.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • Examine
  • Data
  • Evidence
  • Traits
  • Inherited
  • Variations
  • Organisms
  • Offspring
  • Siblings
  • Phenomena
  • Measurable
  • Humans
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • Traits of plant and animal parents (excluding humans).
  • Traits of plant and animal offspring (excluding humans).
  • Variations in similar traits in a grouping of similar organisms.
  • Describe that the pattern of differences in traits between parents and offspring, and between siblings, provides evidence that traits are inherited (excluding humans).
  • Describe that the pattern of differences in traits between parents and offspring, and between siblings, provides evidence that inherited traits can vary (excluding humans).
  • Describe that the variation in inherited traits results in a pattern of variation in traits in groups of organisms that are of a similar type (excluding humans).
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Examine data and use it to provide evidence of inherited traits.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • Similarities and differences in patterns can be used as evidence about inherited traits.
AMSTI Resources:
AMSTI Module:
Heredity and Diversity

NAEP Framework
NAEP Statement::
L4.6: Plants and animals closely resemble their parents.



Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards
AAS Standard:
SCI.AAS.3.7- Recognize similarities between traits of plant and animal (other than human) parents and their offspring.


Science (2015)
Grade(s): 3
All Resources: 2
Learning Activities: 1
Lesson Plans: 1
8 ) Engage in argument from evidence to justify that traits can be influenced by the environment (e.g., stunted growth in normally tall plants due to insufficient water, change in an arctic fox's fur color due to light and/or temperature, stunted growth of a normally large animal due to malnourishment).

Unpacked Content
Scientific And Engineering Practices:
Engaging in Argument from Evidence
Crosscutting Concepts: Cause and Effect
Disciplinary Core Idea: Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Evaluate the given evidence to determine its relevance, and use it to justify the claim that traits can be influenced by the environment.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • Engage
  • Argument
  • Evidence
  • Justify
  • Traits
  • Influenced
  • Environment
  • Cause
  • Effect
  • Claim
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • Characteristics result from individuals' interactions with the environment, which can range from diet to learning. Many characteristics involve both inheritance and environment.
  • The environment also affects the traits that an organism develops.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Support explanations about environmental influences on inherited traits in organisms.
  • Use evidence to support an explanation that traits can be influenced by the environment.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • Cause and effect relationships are routinely identified and used to explain change such as the possibility that environmental factors may influence an organism's traits.
AMSTI Resources:
AMSTI Module:
Heredity and Diversity

NAEP Framework
NAEP Statement::
L4.4: When the environment changes, some plants and animals survive and reproduce; others die or move to new locations.



Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards
AAS Standard:
SCI.AAS.3.8- Recognize that living things have specific needs (water, light, temperature, food, shelter) to live and grow in an environment.


Unity and Diversity
Science (2015)
Grade(s): 3
All Resources: 3
Classroom Resources: 3
9 ) Analyze and interpret data from fossils (e.g., type, size, distribution) to provide evidence of organisms and the environments in which they lived long ago (e.g., marine fossils on dry land, tropical plant fossils in arctic areas, fossils of extinct organisms in any environment).

Unpacked Content
Scientific And Engineering Practices:
Analyzing and Interpreting Data
Crosscutting Concepts: Scale, Proportion, and Quantity
Disciplinary Core Idea: Unity and Diversity
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Analyze data from fossils to provide evidence of organisms and the environments in which they lived long ago.
  • Interpret data from fossils to provide evidence of organisms and the environments in which they lived long ago.
  • Provide evidence of organisms and the environments in which they lived long ago.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • Analyze
  • Interpret
  • Data
  • Fossils
  • Type (mold fossils, cast fossils, trace fossils, true form fossils)
  • Size
  • Distribution
  • Evidence
  • Organisms
  • Environment
  • Extinct
  • Relationships
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • That fossils represent plants and animals that lived long ago.
  • The relationships between the fossils of organisms and the environments in which they lived.
  • The relationships between types of fossils and the current environments where similar organisms are found.
  • That some fossil represent organisms that lived long ago and have no modern counterparts.
  • The relationships between fossils of organisms that lived long ago and their modern counterparts.
  • The relationships between existing animals and the environments in which they currently live.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Organize data about fossils of animals and plants.
  • Identify and describe relationships in the data to make sense of fossils.
  • Interpret data to make sense of fossils.
  • Provide evidence based on data from fossils.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • Fossils provide evidence of organisms that lived long ago.
  • Features of fossils provide evidence of organisms that lived long ago and of what types of environments those organisms must have lived in.
  • Science assumes consistent patterns in natural systems (based on relationships found in the data).
  • Environments can look very different now than they did a long time ago.
AMSTI Resources:
AMSTI Module:
Heredity and Diversity

NAEP Framework
NAEP Statement::
E8.3: Fossils provide important evidence of how life and environmental conditions have changed in a given location.

NAEP Statement::
E8.4: Earth processes seen today, such as erosion and mountain building, make it possible to measure geologic time through methods such as observing rock sequences and using fossils to correlate the sequences at various locations.



Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards
AAS Standard:
SCI.AAS.3.9- Match a fossil to the organism from which it was formed.


Science (2015)
Grade(s): 3
All Resources: 5
Learning Activities: 2
Lesson Plans: 1
Classroom Resources: 2
10 ) Investigate how variations in characteristics among individuals of the same species may provide advantages in surviving, finding mates, and reproducing (e.g., plants having larger thorns being less likely to be eaten by predators, animals having better camouflage coloration being more likely to survive and bear offspring).

Unpacked Content
Scientific And Engineering Practices:
Planning and Carrying out Investigations
Crosscutting Concepts: Cause and Effect
Disciplinary Core Idea: Unity and Diversity
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Identify given characteristics of a species (e.g., thorns on a plant).
  • Describe the patterns of variation of a given characteristic among individuals in a species (e.g., longer or shorter thorns on an individual plant).
  • Describe potential benefits of a given variation of a characteristic.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • Investigate
  • Evidence
  • Explanation
  • Variation
  • Characteristics
  • Individuals
  • Species (plants and animals)
  • Advantages
  • Surviving
  • Finding mates
  • Reproducing
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • Patterns of variation of a given characteristic among individuals in a species (e.g., longer or shorter thorns on individual plants, dark or light coloration of animals).
  • Potential benefits of a given variation of the characteristic (e.g. the light coloration of some moths makes them difficult to see on the bark of a tree).
  • Certain variations in characteristics makes it harder or easier for an animal to survive, find mates, and reproduce (e.g., longer thorns prevent predators more effectively and increase the likelihood of survival; light coloration of some moths provides camouflage in certain environments, making it more likely that they will live long enough to be able to mate and reproduce).
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Collaboratively investigate the variations in characteristics among individuals of the same species.
  • Describe evidence needed to explain the cause-and-effect relationship between a specific variation in a characteristic and its effect on the individual to survive, find mates, and reproduce.
  • Use reasoning to connect the evidence to support the explanation
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • Cause and effect relationships exist between a specific variation in a characteristic (e.g., longer thorns, coloration of moths) and its effect on the ability of the individual organism to survive and reproduce (e.g., plants with longer thorns are less likely to be eaten, darker moths are less likely to be seen and eaten on dark trees).
AMSTI Resources:
AMSTI Module:
Heredity and Diversity

NAEP Framework
NAEP Statement::
L4.4: When the environment changes, some plants and animals survive and reproduce; others die or move to new locations.

NAEP Statement::
L4.7: Different kinds of organisms have characteristics that enable them to survive in different environments. Individuals of the same kind differ in their characteristics, and sometimes the differences give individuals an advantage in surviving and reproducing.



Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards
AAS Standard:
SCI.AAS.3.10- Sort common plants and animals by observable characteristics needed for survival.


Science (2015)
Grade(s): 3
All Resources: 17
Learning Activities: 1
Lesson Plans: 2
Classroom Resources: 14
11 ) Construct an argument from evidence to explain the likelihood of an organism's ability to survive when compared to the resources in a certain habitat (e.g., freshwater organisms survive well, less well, or not at all in saltwater; desert organisms survive well, less well, or not at all in woodlands).

a. Construct explanations that forming groups helps some organisms survive.

b. Create models that illustrate how organisms and their habitats make up a system in which the parts depend on each other.

c. Categorize resources in various habitats as basic materials (e.g., sunlight, air, freshwater, soil), produced materials (e.g., food, fuel, shelter), or as nonmaterial (e.g., safety, instinct, nature-learned behaviors).

Unpacked Content
Scientific And Engineering Practices:
Engaging in Argument from Evidence; Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions; Developing and Using Models; Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking
Crosscutting Concepts: Cause and Effect; Systems and System Models; Structure and Function
Disciplinary Core Idea: Unity and Diversity
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Make a claim to be supported with evidence that in a particular habitat, some organisms can survive well, some can survive less well, and some cannot survive at all.
  • Describe the given evidence necessary to support the claim that in a particular habitat, some organisms can survive well, some can survive less well, and some cannot survive at all.
  • Evaluate the evidence to determine whether it is relevant to and supports the claim that in a particular habitat, some organisms can survive well, some can survive less well, and some cannot survive at all.
  • Use reasoning to construct an argument, connecting the relevant and appropriate evidence to the claim, including describing that any particular environment meets different organisms' needs to different degrees due to the characteristics of that environment and the needs of the organisms (including the cause-and-effect relationship).
  • Describe the evidence necessary to support the explanation that forming groups helps some organisms survive.
  • Create models to describe and illustrate how organisms and their habitats make up a system in which the parts depend on each other.
  • Categorize resources in various habitats based on evidence from constructed arguments, explanations, and models.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • Construct
  • Argument
  • Evidence
  • Likelihood
  • Organism
  • Survive
  • Resources
  • Habitat
  • Explanations
  • Groups
  • Populations
  • Communities
  • Niche
  • Illustrate
  • Models
  • System
  • Depend (on each other)
  • Categorize
  • Basic needs (examples: sunlight, air, fresh water, & soil)
  • Produced materials (examples: food, fuel, shelter)
  • Nonmaterial (examples: safety, instinct, nature-learned behaviors)
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • Some kinds of organisms survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all in a certain habitat.
  • If an environment fully meets the needs of an organism, that organism can survive well within that environment.
  • If an environment partially meets the needs of an organism, that organism can survive less well (lower survival rate, increased sickliness, shorter lifespan) than organisms whose needs are met within that environment.
  • If an environment does not meet the needs of that organism, that organism cannot survive within that environment.
  • Characteristics of a given environment (Examples: soft earth, trees, and shrubs, seasonal flowering plants).
  • Characteristics of a given organism (plants with long, sharp, leaves; rabbit coloration) .
  • Needs of a given organism (shelter from predators, food, water).
  • Characteristics of organisms that might affect survival.
  • How and what features of the habitat meet or do not meet the needs of each of the organisms.
  • Being a part of a group helps animals obtain food, defend themselves, and cope with changes.
  • Members of groups may serve different functions and different groups may vary dramatically in size.
  • Habitats and organisms make up a system in which the parts depend upon each other.
  • Resources and can categorize them as basic materials, produced materials or nonmaterials as resources in various habitats.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Make a claim supported by evidence about an organism's likelihood of survival in a given habitat.
  • Use reasoning to construct an argument.
  • Evaluate and connect relevant and appropriate evidence to support a claim.
  • Construct explanations that forming groups helps some organisms survive.
  • Articulate a statement describing evidence necessary to support the explanation that forming groups helps some organisms survive.
  • Create a model that illustrates how organisms and habitats make up a system in which the parts depend on each other.
  • Describe relationships between components of the model.
  • Categorize resources in various habitats as basic materials, produced material, or nonmaterial.
  • Organize data from the categorization to reveal patterns that suggest relationships.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • Cause and effect relationships are routinely identified and used to explain change.
  • Evidence suggests a causal relationship within the system between the characteristics of a habitat and the survival of organisms within it.
  • The cause and effect relationship between being part of a group and being more successful in obtaining food, defending themselves, and coping with change.
  • That the relationship between organisms and their habitats is a system of related parts that make up a whole in which the individual parts depend on each other.
  • Resources in various habitats have different structures that are related to their function.
AMSTI Resources:
AMSTI Module:
Heredity and Diversity

NAEP Framework
NAEP Statement::
L4.1: Organisms need food, water, and air; a way to dispose of waste; and an environment in which they can live.*

NAEP Statement::
L4.2: Organisms have basic needs. Animals require air, water, and a source of energy and building material for growth and repair. Plants also require light.

NAEP Statement::
L4.3: Organisms interact and are interdependent in various ways, including providing food and shelter to one another. Organisms can survive only in environments in which their needs are met. Some interactions are beneficial; others are detrimental to the organism and other organisms.

NAEP Statement::
L8.7: The number of organisms and populations an ecosystem can support depends on the biotic resources available and abiotic factors, such as quantity of light and water, range of temperatures, and soil composition.



Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards
AAS Standard:
SCI.AAS.3.11- Match common plants and animals with their best environment for growth and survival.


Science (2015)
Grade(s): 3
All Resources: 4
Lesson Plans: 1
Classroom Resources: 3
12 ) Evaluate engineered solutions to a problem created by environmental changes and any resulting impacts on the types and density of plant and animal populations living in the environment (e.g., replanting of sea oats in coastal areas due to destruction by hurricanes, creating property development restrictions in vacation areas to reduce displacement and loss of native animal populations).*

Unpacked Content
Scientific And Engineering Practices:
Engaging in Argument from Evidence
Crosscutting Concepts: Cause and Effect; Systems and System Models
Disciplinary Core Idea: Unity and Diversity
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Make a claim about the merit of an engineered solution to a problem caused when the environment changes, which results in changes in the types of plants and animals that live there.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • Problems/solutions
  • Effects
  • Claim
  • Merit
  • Engineered solutions
  • Environmental changes
  • Density of plant and animal populations
  • Environmental impacts
  • Habitats
  • Organisms
  • Transform
  • Create
  • Ask
  • Imagine
  • Improve
  • Plan
  • Engineering design process
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • Engineers design solutions to solve problems created by environmental changes.
  • Changes in the environment may affect the physical characteristic, temperature, or availability of resources in a place.
  • Changes in the environment affect some organisms' ability to survive and reproduce, cause others to move to new locations, yet others to move into the transformed environment, and cause some to die.
  • Populations live in a variety of habitats, and change in those habitats affect the plants and animals living there.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Identify problem created by environmental changes.
  • Make a claim about an engineered solution to a problem created by environmental changes.
  • Identify the effects of solutions to a problem created by environmental changes that impact the plants and animals living in the environment.
  • Communicate evidence to support the claim about an engineered solution to a problem created by environmental changes.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • That plants and animals within an environment make up a system, and changes to one part of the system impacts other parts.
  • Engineers design solutions to problems created by environmental changes that sometimes impact the plant and animal populations found there.
AMSTI Resources:
AMSTI Module:
Heredity and Diversity

NAEP Framework
NAEP Statement::
E4.11: Humans depend on their natural and constructed environment. Humans change environments in ways that can either be beneficial or detrimental for themselves and other organisms.

NAEP Statement::
L4.4: When the environment changes, some plants and animals survive and reproduce; others die or move to new locations.

NAEP Statement::
L8.7: The number of organisms and populations an ecosystem can support depends on the biotic resources available and abiotic factors, such as quantity of light and water, range of temperatures, and soil composition.



Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards
AAS Standard:
SCI.AAS.3.12- Predict the effect of a simple change in habitat on a plant or animal (e.g., lack of water, lack of plants).


Earth's Systems
Science (2015)
Grade(s): 3
All Resources: 11
Lesson Plans: 1
Classroom Resources: 10
13 ) Display data graphically and in tables to describe typical weather conditions expected during a particular season (e.g., average temperature, precipitation, wind direction).

Unpacked Content
Scientific And Engineering Practices:
Analyzing and Interpreting Data
Crosscutting Concepts: Patterns
Disciplinary Core Idea: Earth's Systems
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Use graphical displays to organize data that describes the typical weather conditions expected during a particular season.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • Data
  • Types of graphs
  • Table
  • Seasons
  • Typical weather conditions for a season
  • Temperature
  • Precipitation
  • Wind direction
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • Weather conditions, like average temperature, precipitation, wind direction, from a given area across multiple seasons.
  • Patterns of weather conditions across different seasons and in different areas.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Identify typical weather conditions for a season.
  • Represent data in tables and various graphical formats.
  • Describe typical weather conditions expected during a particular season.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • Scientists record patterns of the weather across different times and areas so that they can make predictions about what kind of weather might happen next.
AMSTI Resources:
AMSTI Module:
Weather and Climate

NAEP Framework
NAEP Statement::
E4.8: Weather changes from day to day and during the seasons.

NAEP Statement::
E4.9: Scientists use tools for observing, recording, and predicting weather changes from day to day and during the seasons.



Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards
AAS Standard:
SCI.AAS.3.13- Use a graph or pictograph to answer questions about weather.


Science (2015)
Grade(s): 3
All Resources: 6
Lesson Plans: 3
Classroom Resources: 2
Unit Plans: 1
14 ) Collect information from a variety of sources to describe climates in different regions of the world.

Unpacked Content
Scientific And Engineering Practices:
Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information
Crosscutting Concepts: Patterns
Disciplinary Core Idea: Earth's Systems
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Use books and other reliable media to gather information about climates in different regions of the world.
  • Evaluate the information in the resources to describe the climates in different regions.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • Evaluate
  • Climates
  • Regions
  • Reliable media
  • Sources
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • Climate describes a range of an area's typical weather conditions and the extent to which those condition change over the years.
  • Books and other reliable media provide information that can be used to describe climates in different regions of the world.
  • Variations in climates within different regions of the world.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Identify reliable resources for gathering information.
  • Identify the different regions of the world and their climates.
  • Evaluate information in the resources.
  • Use information to describe the climates in different regions and their patterns.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • Patterns in climate can be used to make predictions about typical weather conditions in a region.
AMSTI Resources:
AMSTI Module:
Weather and Climate

Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards
AAS Standard:
SCI.AAS.3.14- Identify differences in climate regions (e.g., desert, oceans).


Earth and Human Activity
Science (2015)
Grade(s): 3
All Resources: 8
Lesson Plans: 4
Classroom Resources: 2
Unit Plans: 2
15 ) Evaluate a design solution (e.g., flood barriers, wind resistant roofs, lightning rods) that reduces the impact of a weather-related hazard.*

Unpacked Content
Scientific And Engineering Practices:
Engaging in Argument from Evidence
Crosscutting Concepts: Cause and Effect
Disciplinary Core Idea: Earth and Human Activity
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Make a claim about the merit of a design solution that reduces the impacts of a weather-related hazard.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • Merit
  • Claim
  • Problem/solution
  • Design solution
  • Impact
  • Reduce
  • Weather-related hazard
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • Engineers design solutions to reduce the impact of weather related hazards.
  • Problems caused by weather related problems.
  • Humans can not eliminate natural hazards but can take steps to reduce their impacts.
  • Some design solutions are more effective than others.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Identify impacts of a weather related hazard.
  • Identify the effects of solutions to a problem that reduces the impact of a weather related hazard.
  • Make a claim about a designed solution that reduces the impact of a weather related hazard.
  • Communicate evidence to support the claim about a designed solution that reduces the impact of a weather related hazard.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • There are cause and effect relationships between weather-related hazards and design solutions created to reduce their impact.
  • There are benefits and risks to given solutions created when responding to the societal demand to reduce the impact of a hazard.
AMSTI Resources:
AMSTI Module:
Weather and Climate

NAEP Framework
NAEP Statement::
E4.11: Humans depend on their natural and constructed environment. Humans change environments in ways that can either be beneficial or detrimental for themselves and other organisms.



Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards
AAS Standard:
SCI.AAS.3.15- Identify practices that keep people safe during severe weather.